Avella, Ancient (or Abella, Abellanus, Avellanus, Avella Vecchia)
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Avella, Ancient (or Abella, Abellanus, Avellanus, Avella Vecchia): An ancient Campanian city located NE of Nola. It is thought to have been founded as a daughter colony by the Chalcidian Greeks of Cumae. At some later date it was taken over by an Oscan-speaking population. Despite its apparent prosperity, it does not seem to have played any significant historical role. In the 2nd half of the 1st century AD, the Emperor Vespasian settled several of his freedmen and clients at Avella, but there is no evidence that it received the status of a colonia until the reign of Trajan. From writers like Virgil and Silius Italicus, we learn that Avella was famous for its fruit trees and filberts (hazelnuts).The site of ancient Avella lies on a high hill near that of modern Avella (AV). Referred to as Avella Vecchia (old Avella), archaeological remains include ancient walls and several buildings (amphitheatre, temple, etc.). The site is best known for a long Oscan inscription recording a treaty of alliance between Avella and Nola, dating to shortly after the 2nd Punic War. It remains one of the most important surviving sources for the study of Oscan.